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Kuwait’s Noor Financial Investment Company said the proposed sale of its stake in Karachi-based Meezan Bank had been blocked by Pakistan’s central bank, which felt the prospective buyer had not met its standards for suitability. Little is known about the prospective buyer, identified only as Vision Financial Holdings Limited in a separate filing by Meezan Bank. Noor Financial said the prospective buyer would continue to seek approval from the regulator, with the offer set to expire on April 15, 2014. However, ownership of Meezan Bank may be a sensitive issue for regulators as they seek to develop Islamic banking in the country. Last December, Noor Financial said it planned to sell its 49.1% stake in Meezan for $190 million and expected to book a $24 million profit.

Dubai Islamic Bank plans to expand its operations into Asian and African countries as it emerges from a period of consolidation, the bank's chief executive Adnan Chilwan said. The lender, which currently makes some 95 percent of its revenue within the United Arab Emirates, says it is entering a growth phase domestically and internationally. It is exploring opportunities in Indonesia, Kenya and surrounding countries in Africa, the Indian subcontinent and the GCC. Expansion could be realized via acquisition, a Joint Venture, a finance company or a greenfield operation as long as DIB keeps management control and operates under its brand, Chilwan added. However, Chilwan said the bank also expected strong growth in its domestic market, so the balance between local and international business would not change radically.

Jamal Darwiche, acting CEO of alizz islamic bank, has resigned from his position for personal reasons. The bank said that the board is engaged in filling this role permanently, but added that Saif al Yarubi will take on this responsibility during the interim period. Before joining alizz islamic bank in July 2012, Darwiche held the position of chief operating officer and general manager of retail banking at Masraf Al Rayan Bank in Qatar. Saif al Yarubi was appointed as chief financial officer at alizz islamic bank in September 2013. He joined alizz islamic bank after serving five years as finance director at Investment Corporation of Dubai (ICD).

Islamic Bank of Britain is hosting an information evening in London dedicated to improving the local community’s understanding of Sharia compliant savings. The event will take place on Thursday 20th March 2014 at Islamic Bank of Britain, 97-99 Whitechapel Road, London, E1 1DT, from 6.30 pm – 8.00 pm. The evening will consist of a brief presentation about how customers can maximise the returns from their savings in a tax-efficient and Sharia compliant way. This will be followed by an informal Q&A and discussion session, and will cover IBB’s future plans since becoming part of the Masraf Al Rayan Q.S.C. (MAR) group, Qatar’s largest Sharia compliant bank. IBB is holding the event following its launch of the UK’s only Sharia compliant Notice Cash Individual Savings Account, with an expected profit rate of 1.8% (per annum).

Dubai Islamic Bank has revealed plans to expand its operations to Africa as well as Asia, as it seeks growth for its domestic and international business. According to DIB’s chief executive Adnan Chilwan, the bank is exploring opportunities in Indonesia, Kenya and surrounding countries in Africa, the Indian subcontinent and the GCC, with the hope of doing this via acquisition, Joint Venture, establishment of a finance company, or through a greenfield operation startup. Given a five-year scenario, the bank expects a decent franchise spread across these countries with stable and solid yields across all sectors. International business is estimated getting at best 10 to 15 percent of the overall group numbers in about six to eight years.

Qatar International Islamic Bank (International Islamic) is exploring investment opportunities overseas, especially in some African countries. However, Abdulbasit Ahmed Al Shaibei, CEO and member of the board of directors of QIIB, did not to disclose the details. Moreover, the bank is working to open seven new branches in different parts of the country, including one each at The Pear Qatar and Al Khor very soon. The bank’s total revenue for 2013 stood at QR1.458bn, and the net profit reached QR750.3m, with a growth of 10.5 percent compared to 2012, and earnings per share reached QR4.96.

Malaysia’s Islamic banking assets are on track to make up 40% of the country’s total banking sector assets by 2020 from about 25% now, according to Wasim Saifi, Standard Chartered Saadiq Bhd chief executive officer and global head of Standard Chartered’s Islamic consumer banking. Islamic banking has grown twice as fast in Malaysia as its conventional counterpart at a compounded annual growth rate of 22%. Syariah-compliant solutions are currently offered at 10 Standard Chartered Saadiq branches, but will now also be available via the Islamic banking counters at Standard Chartered Bank Malaysia’s conventional branches. Standard Chartered Saadiq is also targeting to penetrate further into the SME market.

The Islamic Financial Services Board (IFSB) successfully organised four events in Khartoum, Sudan on 18 - 20 February 2014. The Insurance Supervisory Authority of Sudan hosted the 6th Seminar on the Regulation of Takaful and the Facilitating the Implementation of the IFSB Standards (FIS) on Takaful while the Central Bank of Sudan (CBoS) was the host for the IFSB Meet the Members Session and the FIS Workshops on Banking. In addition, two workshops were held in Khartoum: the Facilitating the Implementation of the IFSB Standards (FIS) Workshops on Banking and the FIS Workshop on Takaful.

Pakistani lender Summit Bank Limited has inaugurated its first Islamic banking branch in Karachi and announced that it will transform all operations into Shariah mode in next three years. Hussain Lawai, President and CEO Summit Bank, said the bank's investors have injected Rs 1 billion fresh equity for Shariah-based operations. The management has decided to make efforts for conversion of branches from conventional to Islamic mode, instead of opening new branches. As per the roadmap in the first phase Summit Bank Islamic branches will be set up in four major cities - Karachi, Lahore, Faisalabad and Islamabad - during this year, he added. The bank set a target of 30 percent growth for Shariah business and as per its estimates it will be over 20 percent during this year.

Asya Katilim Bankasi AS (ASYAB), the Istanbul-based lender caught in a feud between the government and an Islamic movement, fell to its lowest in more than three weeks as Turkish Airlines (THYAO) said it was no longer using the bank. THYAO didn't say where it had transferred its deposits. As a result, Bank Asya’s shares declined 4.1 percent at 12:24 p.m. in Istanbul. The market may be concerned that Turkish Airlines removing deposits may have a negative impact on the funding structure of the bank. However, it was known in the market that THY took out large deposits before, so the market’s probably overreacting at the moment. The bank has lost 41 percent since Dec. 16, and its price-to-book ratio of 0.43 is the lowest in an index of 16 listed Turkish lenders.

Oman's Bank Nizwa has partnered with the Ministry of Endowment and Religious affairs to create a seamless opportunity for customers to pay their Zakat. Customers can now easily transfer the required amount from their accounts into the allocated Ministry of Religious Affairs account at Bank Nizwa . They can also deposit cash directly into this account. Customers who regularly wish to transfer Zakat can set up a standing order. Bank Nizwa customers who choose to pay their Zakat through the afore mentioned Bank Account are assured of a waiver of fees on all standing orders linked to this account. There are also fee waivers on internal, local and International transfers associated with this account.

Attijariwafa Bank, one of the biggest banks in North Africa, will boost its Islamic subsidiary as soon as the Islamic finance bill passes parliament. Morocco's parliament has started to discuss a bill regulating Islamic banks and sukuk issues after months of delays, after the Islamist-led government adopted it last month. Parliament's approval will be the last step before fully-fledged Islamic banks can be established in Morocco. However, a revolution in the Moroccan banking sector is not expected since the market is very competitive, and Moroccans are too sensitive to product prices. Islamic finance banks are called participative banks under the Moroccan legislation.

Bahrain's central bank governor Rasheed al-Maraj has said he expected further bank consolidation this year after a spree of tie-ups in 2013. The central bank has been encouraging smaller lenders to merge to bolster institutions weakened by a local real estate crash and fall-out from the island kingdom's political unrest in 2011, which has continued sporadically since then. In 2013, there were four separate examples of consolidation in the Bahraini banking sector, further tie-ups are expected to be announced by the end of the year. Moreover, the regulator is encouraging Islamic banks in the kingdom to get credit ratings to improve transparency. Maraj added he expected all banks would have a rating in the next two years.

Since sharia boards tend to be paid by the institutions whose activities they oversee, the scholars can be open to accusations of conflicts of interest. That's why Bahrain’s Waqf Fund has proposed mandatory external sharia audits for Islamic financial institutions. While the proposal is for Bahrain, it may have an impact on Islamic finance globally because of Bahrain’s central role in the industry. The proposal also ties in with growing pressure for reforms to the sharia oversight system in other countries, like Kuwait. The Waqf Fund will develop a framework for external sharia audits with a team of audit firms, scholars and the Bahrain-based Accounting and Auditing Organisation for Islamic Financial Institutions (AAOIFI).

Bahrain-based Ithmaar Bank reported a net loss of BHD 29.9 million in 2013, compared to a net loss of BHD 10.1 million in 2012. One of the major factors impacting the performance of the Group for this year is the reduction in benchmark profit rates in Pakistan, coupled with increased minimum profit rate on certain liability products resulting in significant margin compression in FBL. The bank has therefore taken some key decisions including cost rationalization measures across the Group. Moreover, the remaining conventional operations of its subsidiary Faysal Bank Limited Pakistan’s (FBL) will be conversed to Islamic banking, subject to approval from FBL shareholders and the regulators.

Standalone Islamic bank versus Islamic window operations is the most prolific debates found in the Islamic finance industry today. The debate is healthy and worthwhile having, if it is done merely to determine how to best meet the various stakeholders’ expectations in a particular jurisdiction. However, it becomes totally time wasting if it is done on the basis of determining which one is more credible or “more Shariah-compliant”. Malaysia is pretty much the only country in the world that has comprehensively legislated and regulated how financial institution may provide Islamic banking products and services. In a jurisdiction, however, that does not have such a structured and established framework, banks must operate within the existing banking framework. Standalone Islamic bank or Islamic window, both are equally good and credible.

ABC Islamic Bank has announced that its net profit for last year was $12.2 million, 48 per cent higher than the previous year of $8.3m. Net profit for the fourth quarter of last year was $3m, 112pc higher than the same period of 2012. Total operating income grew 12.8pc to $18.1m compared to the previous year while operating expenses decreased by more than 20pc to $5.5m. No impairment provisions were required during the year. The bank's capital base remains very strong with a capital adequacy ratio of 27.6pc, predominantly Tier 1, which totalled 26.2pc. ABC Islamic Bank's total assets stood at $1.002 billion, compared to $1.067bn in 2012.

Meezan Bank Limited was granted permission by the State Bank of Pakistan (SBP) to conduct due diligence of HSBC Pakistan’s operations. The management of Meezan Bank is reportedly in discussion with HSBC Bank Middle East Limited (HBME) for evaluating a possible transaction involving acquisition of the Pakistan operations of HBME. HSBC Pakistan was put on the block early 2012 and attracted interest from major banks. On June 30, 2012, the business to be sold had 10 branches and gross assets worth Rs60.06 billion (approximately $635 million). Interestingly, in November 2013, Vision Financial Holdings Limited had also shown interest in acquiring 49.11 percent or 492 million shares of Meezan Bank Limited. However, the two transactions are said to be completely unrelated.

Islamic banking industry in Pakistan has been growing at a fast pace ever since its re-launch in 2002 and now represents over 12 percent of overall banking industry with 19 Islamic banking institutions offering Islamic banking products and services through a network of over 1300 branches across the country. The State Bank pf Pakistan (SBP) has announced a five-year strategic plan for the Islamic Banking Industry (IBI) aimed to provide a roadmap to the industry for the next level of development. Moreover, SBP has decided to strictly monitor the performance of the Islamic Banking industry in order to ensure that they are operating according to Sharia. Besides, SBP is working on its major role to ensure the participation of every citizen in the financial system, through its Financial Inclusion Policy.

ABC Islamic Bank has announced that its net profit for the year ending 2013 was $12.2 million, 48 per cent higher than the previous year of $8.3 million net profit. Net profit for the fourth quarter of 2013 was $3 million, 112 per cent higher than the same period of 2012. Total operating income grew 12.8 per cent to $18.1 million compared to $16 million in the previous year while operating expenses decreased by more than 20 per cent to $5.5 million. The Bank’s capital base remains very strong with a capital adequacy ratio of 27.6 per cent, predominantly Tier 1, which totalled 26.2 per cent. ABC Islamic Bank’s total assets stood at $1.002 billion.